Guernsey Press

Care needed as water storage below normal levels

ISLANDERS are being encouraged to use water wisely as Guernsey Water plans for more extreme droughts in the future as a result of climate change.

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St Saviour’s Reservoir, which makes up 24% of the island’s storage capacity, is only 61% full. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 30225190)

Water resource levels are currently at 80% of the island’s total storage capacity across all 14 reservoirs, which is 3% below what is expected at this time of year.

‘Normally we would expect to see levels increase to 88% by the end of this month, so we are monitoring levels closely as we go into the winter recharge period, our most important time for water collection,’ said Guernsey Water managing director Steve Langlois.

‘This period will continue until March. During this time, we will collect rainfall and refill our reservoirs to ensure we have enough water for the summer, when people need it the most.’

St Saviour’s reservoir makes up 24% of the island’s total water resource and is currently at 61% capacity. Longue Hougue, the island’s biggest reservoir, is 85% full.

‘Significant investment has been made in water capture over the last 10 years. When all our reservoirs are full, we have enough water to supply the island for 11 months without rain.

‘This means we are resilient to a one-year drought and have good resilience to a two-year drought. However, we are now planning even further ahead due to climate change, which will result in more extreme droughts in the future.’

There are no plans to enforce official water-saving measures at this time, but people are being advised to always be mindful of how much water they are using.

‘Water is a valuable resource, so regardless of the time of year or water storage levels we ask islanders to use water wisely. Being water efficient not only saves money, it also helps reduce your carbon footprint,’ said Mr Langlois.